Monday, October 20, 2014

What You See IS What You Get: The Power of Visual Perspective

Seeing is
believing. It’s also a huge part of learning effectively.

Think about
the last time you attended a martial arts/self-defense class or seminar. If it
followed the typical form, the instructor and his demonstration assistant got
up at the front of the room and “taught” the technique—explaining it and
demonstrating it several times. You and everyone else stood back at a
respectful distance and followed along the best you could. When the “instruction”
was done, everyone nodded, turned to their partners and asked “Did you get
that?” In many cases, the honest answer was “no,” so you did your best to fumble
through something that looked vaguely like the instructor’s technique, all the
while hoping he would see that you were lost and come over to help.

If you were
lucky enough to get that help—and if your instructor was doing his job—he would
have taken advantage of the opportunity to not only teach the technique again,
but to show it to you from the vantage points that allowed you to see and
understand what he was doing. If you weren’t that lucky—or if your instructor
wasn’t trying hard enough—you’re probably still struggling with that technique.

In order to
replicate an instructor’s technique and really learn something, you need to be
able to understand the dynamics of his movement in three dimensions. You must
be able to relate left and right sides, as well as depth and both angles and
vectors of motion. And the best way to do that is to see the technique up close
and from perspectives that really let you see the action. In general, the
closer you get to a “first-person” point of view, the better off you’ll be.

When I teach
seminars, I try to overcome the large-group issues by encouraging students to
move in close as I teach. I change angles to show them the technique from the
most educational perspectives and sometimes demonstrate from a kneeling
position to give them an overhead view that clearly shows how my arms move in
relation to my centerline. Invariably, they “get it” quicker and understand the
concepts and techniques more clearly than if I use a traditional teaching
approach.

Several years
ago, I went a step further by using live video in conjunction with my seminar
teaching. In addition to seeing me “in the flesh,” I set up a video camera
linked to a projector or a big-screen TV to show the details and the
perspectives that students couldn’t see as a group. Much like a “Jumbo-tron” at
sporting events, it gives you a view you could never get as an ordinary member
of the audience. The results have been amazing. Students who would normally
struggle with detailed or complex movements began learning them more easily and
quickly than ever before. I knew I was on to something.

I get e-mails
literally every day from people asking when I will be doing an MBC seminar in
their area. Although I actively teach seminars all over the world and have a number
of certified instructors supporting my efforts, there’s no way I can be
everywhere. After giving this issue a lot of thought, I decided to build on the
success of my video-enhanced approach to learning by creating instructional
materials that truly captured that up-close, in-person perspective. The result
is the MBC Distance Learning Program (DLP).

The DLP is an
online video-based program that provides short, easily understood “private
lessons” on specific aspects of the MBC system and other topics. Unlike
seminars and traditional martial arts instructional videos, the DLP gives you a
first-person view of the skills being taught and is true instruction,
not just a demonstration of technique. Like all of my current
instructional videos from Stay Safe Media, DLP lessons are shot and edited by
Michael Rigg, who is not only an exceptional videographer but is also a fully
certified instructor in MBC. As such, he knows
what students need to see to learn each technique. Most DLP segments are
also taught and shot in my home office or garage where I can constantly monitor
the camerawork as its shot to ensure that it represents my mind’s-eye view of
what students need to see.

To give you
an idea of what I mean, take a look at this video from the DLP curriculum,
which teaches you MBC’s core defenses against an angle 2 (high backhand)
attack.

As you can
see, the videos in the DLP program enable you to see exactly what you’d see if
you were training privately with me and exactly what you need to see to
really learn effectively. They also illustrate the type of detailed, logical,
step-by-step instruction that makes MBC so special. With the videos in the DLP,
it’s possible for you to learn reliable personal-defense skills no matter where
you are.

“Private
lesson” MBC videos are the core of the DLP, but I didn’t want to stop there. The
DLP library also includes information on the other personal-defense systems I’ve
developed, including step-by-step instruction in Sobadiwan Eskrima—my eclectic
approach to stick fighting, unarmed combatives, and advanced methods of solo
training using my MBC training dummy (which I also teach you how to build). The
DLP video library currently includes more than 12 hours of detailed
instruction, with new videos being added every month.

As many of
you know, I write actively for a number of different personal-defense
magazines. I am also frequently frustrated when the editors of some of these
magazines take my thorough, detailed, how-to articles and pare them down to
superficial topic overviews. It’s even more infuriating when the original
photos I shoot with trained MBC practitioners are re-shot with untrained models
who don’t have a clue about personal-defense skills. To overcome these problems
and really share information with the
MBC community, I also include unedited or expanded versions of my articles and
a monthly newsletter in the DLP. In fact, here is a list of everything students
get with enrollment in the DLP program:

A
one-year subscription to the MBC online Distance Learning Program library, including
free updates, archival videos, and bonus materials.

Access
to exclusive non-video instructional materials, including MBC training guides
and expanded versions of many of my published articles. This access alone can
save you hundreds of dollars at the newsstand.

A
one-year subscription to the official MBC e-mail newsletter, The Plan.

Permanent
access to the MBC internet forum and the MBC training community. This closed
forum is reserved only for serious students of MBC and was previously
restricted only to those who had personally trained with me. It is a tremendous
resource for asking questions, establishing training networks, and exchanging
information.

The
right to request the production of videos on specific topics for inclusion in
the DLP library.

A
personalized video review of your MBC skills. You shoot and submit a video of
you demonstrating your MBC skills and I will personally review and critique
them, providing specific feedback to help you refine your technique and
training goals.

A
$150.00 discount off tuition to Martial Blade Camp—the premier MBC training
event of the year.

Special
discount offers on the purchase of items from Stay Safe Media, available
exclusively to members of the DLP.

The combined
value of all these materials and benefits is well over $1,000. With the MBC
Distance Learning Program, you can get it all for only $500.

If you’ve been wanting to learn MBC but don’t have an instructor near
you or haven’t been able to travel to a seminar, the DLP is your answer. All
you need is a computer and internet access and you can start your MBC education
today. Just click on this link to order.

If you’re not
interested in the DLP, but enjoy reading my blog, please remember that seeing properly
is critical to learning effectively. The next time you’re in a class or a
seminar, don’t be content to stand back and struggle. Get up close where you need
to be to truly learn. Be respectful and ask the instructor’s permission if
necessary, but don’t settle for a lousy view. Don’t let “not seeing” be an
excuse for “not learning.”

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About Me

Michael Janich has been a student and teacher of the martial arts and practical self-defense for more than 30 years. The author or co-author of numerous books and instructional videos on personal defense, combat shooting, and other topics, Janich has also been published in more than a dozen magazines, including Black Belt, Inside Kung Fu Tactical Knives, American Handgunner, S.W.A.T., and many others. Janich has recently earned critical acclaim as a co-host and subject-matter expert for Outdoor Channel's new hit personal defense series The Best Defense.
A decorated U.S. Army veteran and former DoD intelligence officer, Janich served with the National Security Agency (NSA) and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). He was also a team leader for the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA), investigating the fates of U.S. POW-MIA in Vietnam and Laos.
Janich is the founder of the Martial Blade Concepts MBC) system of edged-weapon tactics, as well as the related systems of Counter-Blade Concepts (CBC), Damithurt Silat, and Sobadiwan Eskrima. Janich teaches seminars and training courses around the world.